The Two of Us

by Taylor Torres

“I could sit here all day and try to convince you of how pretty you are, but I’m not going to because being pretty is not the accomplishment you think it is.” His fingers lift my chin. “Be kind. Be funny. Be interesting. That is where you will find your power.”

“If a person cares only for the words inside when the outside is pristine, the person doesn’t care very much at all to begin with.”

Hurt people can be dangerous people.

“Healing isn’t linear, Mara,” Mitsu says. “Some days it’s five steps forward and other days it’s seven steps back. There’s no finish line. The goal is just to keep stepping.”